Lock device for refrigerator doors



March 9,1926. 1,575,647

'r. o. SCHRADER LOCK DEVICE FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS Filed June 19,25

open Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS O. SGHRADIER, OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVA NIA, ASSIGNOR 'I'O DENT HARD- WARE CO., OF FULLERTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

LOCK DEVICE FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS.

Application filed June 30, 1925. 'Serial No. 40,474.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, THOMAS O. SOHRADER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at the city of Allentown, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvan1a,*have 'invented a certain new and useful Lock Device for Refrigerator Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a locking device for refrigerator and other doors; and in such connection it relates more particularly to a locking device adapted to be operated by the slamming or quick closing of the door,-thereby to cause an automatic and mstantaneous engagement between a movable tongue member and a stationary keeper of said locking device.

In the employment of locking devices on refrigerators, it is desirable, as well as important, to providea fastening device for such structures that can be readlly and quickly manipulated to both open and to close the door thereof, and also to maintam said door tightly locked, in the closed position, yet nevertheless, in such a manner as to be capable of being easily released when required; and to the foregoing ends, my present invention has been particularly designed, with a view to simpllclty'of structure and operation for effectlng not only quick opening of the door but also quick closing of the same.

My invention, stated 1n general terms, consists of a refrigerator locking device constructivel arranged in substantially the manner ligreinafter described and claimed.

The nature and characteristic features of my invention will be more fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary V ew in elevation of refrigerator parts showmgthe same provided with'a locking device embodymg main featuresof my invention, wlth the door of the mid erator shown in partly osition, and the locking device unlatched. I

Fi 2 is a similar view with the lockin evice in latched position. %i es 3 and 4 are respectively, enlarged,

'deta'c ed perspective views of the locking device of my present invention comprising ber.

Figures 5 and 6 are respectively rear end views of the keeper and tongue members of the automatically actuating refrigerator lock, defining the particular arrangement of the same, and Figures 7 and 8 are similar views from the opposite side of the respective keeper and tongue members, showing the structural arrangement of the same.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown in the accompanying drawings several forms thereof which are at present preferredby me, since the same have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instruthe keeper member and the locking memmentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings the reference letter a designates a refrigerator structure and a thedoor thereof. There is shown applied to the structure a, the keeper member b, of my invention, which in structural arrangement, consists of a baseplate 6 formed with apertures 71 for the reception of screws, to adapt the same fOI'bGlIlg secured in place,

adjacent to the door opening. The keeper plate 6 is formed integral with the base plate 6 and projects upwardly therefrom at substantially a right angle thereto. The keeper plate 12 is provided with the rear and front downwardly converging concaved edges 6 and b respectively; meeting in the downwardly projecting nose 6'. The keeper plate 6 is hollowed out at b" on its inner side and is provided witha laterally rojecting' pin 6 formed integral therewith and having the convexed front surface 6 forming a. riding surface for a'cam c of the locking member a, to be presently fully explained. The laterally projecting pin 6 of the keeper plate 6 serves to encounter acam c of the latch member 0 when the door is closed, thereby causing the handle 0 of said latch member 0 to swing into a horizontal locking position and hence causing the tonguec" thereof t be wedged upwardly against the rear concaved edge 6 of the p keeper plate 6, by the weight and momenuntil it is desire any pur ose.

The atch member consists of a basethe recess b", again throwing ",locked position.

tum of the handle '0, thereby to hold said tongue 0' securely in such locked position to open the door a, for

plate a, perforated at a, for the reception of screws andprovided with a right angular bearing bracket 0, formed integral therewith, which is adapted to su port the pivotal latch 0. The pivotal latc cf, carried by the pivot pm or rivet c ,cons1sts of the handle p0rt10n a and the tongue 0 extending 1n the 0p oslte dlrection and in alinement therewit and is also providedwith the inclined concaved cam 0 also formed inte ral therewith, as shown particularl in igure 4.

. The escribed arrangement of kee rand latch is such that by slamming of t e door with the lever rod or handle in a substantially vertical position and with the cam 0 thereof laterally projecting, the latter will contact with-the pin 1) of the keeper 6, so that the handle 6 will be deflected downwardly causin the tongue to enter the recess 6 behinthe keeper plate I) at the same time the cam 0 will ride onto the pin 6 of the said keeper to impart momentum to the handleb and thus to force the tongue 0'' into a wedging position in the recess 6 of'saidkee r thereby to hold the door securely against opening until a reversed movement of the lever rod which causes the cam to ride again over the pin 1) of the keeper, and simultaneouslytherewit causing the to e c to be withdrawn from the recess 6 0 the keeper 6. In this position, the door occupies an open relation with vrespect to the refrigerator for access thereto.

The fastener will close automatically, due

to the cam action, whether the handle is in horizontal or lperpendicular position. When in horizonta position the tongue 0' rides the strike, or concave edge I), and the cam 0 will strike the in b as the tongue reaches the nose .6 or ower terminal of the front concaved edge I), and give it momentum to throw the tongue under the rear concaved edge I) of the keeper plate into recess, 6 closing the latch or fastener. When in perendicuhar osition the cam c rides the pm giving t e handle momentum to throw the tongue 0' under the keeper lplate 6 into e latch into I am aware of Patent No. 1385102 dated July 19, 1921, and I disclaim the structure therein disclosed, as'my invention is difl'erentiated therefrom, since whereas the structure disclosed in said. patent utilizes a pin 12 carried by the latch arm 11, which coacts fwith an upper cam edge 18 of the keeper member 17; in my novel construction the upper edge of my keeper plate 6' has no ated as desirable in the statement oi the inventwn and the above descrlptwn and wh1le I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiments thereof which have been found in practice to give satisfacto and reliable results, it is to be understoo that the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character stated a fixed structure having an opening, a. door for closing said opening, a keeper having a pin projecting laterally from its inner wall and a rear cam riding surface and a bottom recessed portion, a locking member for said door comprising a pivotal handle having a projected tongue in substantial alignment with the handle, said handle having an upper cam arranged at an angle to said handle and tongue whereby closin causes said cam to be engag by said pin to tilt said handle and to cause said tongue to engage said bottom recessed portion to automatically lock said door.

2. In a device of the character stated a fixed structure havin an o ning, a door for closing said opening a eeper of integral structure having a pin projecting laterally from its inner wall, said pin having its outer wall substantially convexed, and a rear cam riding surface and a bottom reccssed portion, a locking member for said door comprising a pivotal handle having a projected integral tongue in substantial of said door,

alignment with the handle, said handle r, and an up- 130 per cam carried thereby, inclined to the axis laterall projecting pin carried by the inner of the ivot of said latch member; said wall 0 said keeper plate and adapted to termina tongue bein adapted to ride ooact with said up er inclined cam carried downwardly along sai front cam edge of by said latchmem r to deflect the latter 5 said keeper plate to deflect said latch meme from a substantially upright to a'horizonll her into a substantially upright position tel position, so asto cause said terminal and said tongue being adapted to interlock tonguefito interlock with said rear locking with said'upright rear locklng edge on said edge of said keeper plate, keeper plate, when said latch member is in p a substantially horizontal position, and a THOS. O. SCHRADER. 

